Academy
by LittleWhiteLiesSing
Summary: The Academy is where all wizards go for schooling but for one student and his new slave its not just a place for learning but where their destiny will change as well.
1. Chapter 1

**~Academy - Chapter 1~**

****Hello everyone! After being gone for so long I am proud to bring you the beginings of yet another new story! But don' t worry, I am back to writing the others as well. Updates will be slow, but they are coming!

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**~Axel~**

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He could see smoke forming a fierce dragon in the morning sky. Though it was still dark he could clearly make out the dark smolder and faint light above the trees. He'd set enough villages on fire, burned enough fields, to know the signs. Digging his heels into the flanks of his horse Axel urged him on. His only thought was how they found them. He was part of one of the many nomadic tribes throughout Hallow Bastion and they were nowhere close to the capitol city, Radiant Garden. None of the peasants should have enough force to even consider running them out of the forest. He'd even been out all night checking on all of the nearby towns to make sure they wouldn't cause a fuss when they rode past.

Beneath him, Fury's hooves hit the ground like thunder. He could feel the wind pulling his hair back and making his eyes water. But no amount of speed could get him there fast enough. Even when he was close enough to smell the burning leather of their tents and hear the screams he felt like it took forever to get there. Pulling hard against the reins to halt Fury, Axel jumped from his back. The fire had been contained to just their tents by the emperor's mages marked clearly by the white Nobody symbol on their black tunics.

Feeling his own magic rushing through him he summoned fire of his own. The mages clearly hadn't expected a barbarian to wield the same magic they'd trained years to perfect. Not that his was flawless. Hell, it was anything but. Like him and those who taught him it was wild and unpredictable. Chances of him starting a real forest fire were high but in the moment that wasn't his concern; the smell of burning flesh was. He could see a child still in one of the tents. Throwing up a sturdy wall of fire to give himself some time he dove through the fire at the entrance of the tent to grab the child. It didn't hurt him. For him fire was a warm blanket; the flames tendrils of tickling fingers. Yet the child wouldn't be as protected. She wasn't as blessed as Axel was with magic.

The tricky decision of how to get the child out through the flames was made for him. From behind a wave of cold hit him. He couldn't breathe from the suffocating chill. Even the child's breath was taken. The cold surrounding him never ceased but he was frozen in place. In his arms the child shivered. "Mommy?" pleaded the child.

"It's okay," Axel cooed. "I'll find her." Trying to force his chilled body to move it took him a minute to realize he wasn't simply numb, he was frozen to the ground. The sound of the mage's footsteps behind him got him acting again. Sending magic through his limbs he melted the thick sheets of ice around him enough to but the little girl down. "Run," he commanded.

As soon as she left his arms he let heat explode from him. The tent burst into violent flames around him. The mages gasped and he could feel another wave of cold as they tried to subdue him. Keeping an armor of heat around him Axel turned to face them. Four of them. Four bastards had scattered his tribe to the winds and killed however many more. Why had they targeted them? How had they found them?

Trying to ignore the panic for the rest of his tribe Axel focused on the anger. Taking a breath he focused on himself, forgetting about the men. It wasn't a quick thing that he was doing. Drawing every bit of his power wasn't something he could do in an instant if he wanted to release it without destroying everything he could see. But it didn't matter. His temperature was rising to the point any ice that got too close melted then evaporated before it could reach him. The heat was warping his vision. The little girl was almost far enough away. He had to just give her a bit longer. So close…

The mages must've known he was doing something. They gave each other a look. Too damn bad. Whatever they were doing, whatever nice, organized spells couldn't stand against him. There was no chance. Spreading his arms out the first bit of his gathered power escaped his control. Sent out in a wave the others staggered back. Grass withered in a perfect circle around him. Trees shook.

"I'll see you in another life," said Axel with a grin. He could feel his power slipping already. There was too much to be held in a small mortal frame. The first flames were small lines of power that shot from him across the ground. They weren't aimed more than towards the mages but they were easily deflected. Axel could see the fear leaving their eyes. They thought that was all it was going to be. That was nothing. They'd be nothing, their ashes indistinguishable from the rest of the burnt earth.

"Axel!" Dropping his arms Axel felt the breath being knocked from him as his power took on its own life. Falling to his knees he struggled to redirect it, to actually take control of it. Pressing his hands against the ground he forced it into the earth. "Axel!"

Axel's head whipped around. "Get out of here Lea!" Why was his brother here? Why wasn't he protecting their clan? Their family? He couldn't gain control. He'd let it go too far. There was nothing left in him to stop it. "Run!"

He'd always loved fire. He'd loved the wild way it moved. Its heat kept them alive in the harshest winters. His father said it was his birthright. There were other clans of barbarians with "wild" magic but there was nothing wild about it. Maybe compared to the perfectly trained mages bound to the emperor but theirs was just shackled, forced into unnatural shapes. Barbarians used the magic of the earth and her elements. Mages took it and made it do other things. That was far more wild and unnatural.

Yet as the flames lapped up around him, freezing him in place, expanding out around him at a dangerous rate he hated it. It was destructive, dangerous. It wasn't keeping them alive, it was killing everything. Everything was blurred but he could see everything. He watched each blade of grass ignite as one. The fire danced towards Lea. Lea's fire red hair became indistinguishable from the flames that were eating at his body. Axel couldn't see his green eyes but he could see them as the last bits of his brother before he was nothing but ash as well. The smell of burning flesh might have been in his mind. All he could smell for sure was burning life.

Forever and yet in an instant everything was dead around him. His camp was gone, the forest was ablaze and his brother was a memory. And still the four bastard mages seemed nothing but winded. Two lay on the ground, one on his knees, one holding himself as if he were cold; none even slightly marred.

"Bastards!"


	2. Chapter 2

**~Academy - Chapter 2~**

Funny, I didn't put warnings in the first part. Strange. I'm sure sure what they are yet but I'm rating this M anyways cause that's how it'll probably turn out.

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**~Hayner~**

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The halls of the Academy seemed whiter than normal. They made his head hurt more. "Change the walls," he groaned miserably. "Make them shut up too." Slamming his head against the table made it disappear for a second but then the pain came back in a bigger rush. "Make it stop!"

"Hayner, if you're going to complain afterwards, stop drinking every Friday night. It would help these hangovers you get at the start of every weekend," said Naminé. She was busy fiddling with some blocks of gold at their breakfast table. One was in her hands being molded like clay while the other floated in front of her face molding itself into something else. Her concentration was phenomenal for only having been at the Academy for a year.

"I can't help it," Hayner complained back at her. "Seifer and his gang always have liquor and invite me to celebrate the end of the week." His wavy, dirty blond hair was a wreck. Normally he had it all pointed upwards in a nice way but today little hairs were sticking everywhere. Lifting up his head his brown eyes glared at her from their puffy lids. "Maybe if you took a break for once you could come have fun _with_ us."

Sighing Naminé put the morphed chunks of gold down on the table. Unlike her friend she was impeccably put together. Her blond hair fell gently around her shoulders and her blue eyes were wide and alert. Even her white novice robes didn't have a fold out of place whereas Hayner's yellow ones had a rather noticeable stain on one shoulder. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm missing your point. Why would I want to hang out with them? I don't have time to get drunk and I get nothing from being their friend. Not meaning to sound rude of course."

That was the thing with Naminé. She was as pretty as a picture but all work. Of course she had to catch up to the rest of them so maybe she'd relax a bit once she was promoted to an adept like Hayner and the rest of their friends. And he knew she wasn't being rude. She didn't actually believe Siefer and his friends were below them just because they were the servants of the Academy lacking any amount of magical ability. But if they couldn't teach her anything, if they couldn't help her improve, she didn't have time for them right now.

"It's cool. I just wish you'd hang out with me outside of classes sometimes." Hayner propped his chin on the table. The first wafting smells of breakfast made their way into the food hall. He felt sick. "I'm going to puke."

"You'll be fine," Naminé laughed. "But I have to study. Tests are coming up in a just a few weeks. Why don't you ask Roxas to hang out with you?" Silence made them catch each other's eyes, a mutual understand had them laughing like fools. "Okay, so that's foolish, but we should at least ask him to come out of his room."

"I don't think I've seen him outside of his room in almost a week," Hayner said thoughtfully. Footsteps had him forgetting his own thoughts and looking at the entry door. The large marble doors were kept open so food could be brought in without the use of magic. Each of the servants of the Academy brought in a large try piled high with food. One tray per table, even though some tables didn't have anyone at them.

"Good morning Hayner, Naminé," said a soft voice. Olette's bright smile made Hayner's head hurt more. "I brought you extra greasy bacon. Should help with the hangover." She placed the plate of bacon closest to him. "And I brought extra jam for your toast Naminé. They had fresh raspberry jam today."

Olette was amazing. Naminé and Hayner had been sitting at this table for all of their time at the Academy. Actually, it was Roxas who had sat there first and they'd just followed him to the table. Most of the servants of the castle were about their own age which made being friendly with them easy. Olette had responded to their offer of friendship as well. Though she was a servant she still would visit them after her work hours. And when she brought out their breakfast, lunch and dinner she always made sure to bring out whatever she knew they liked.

"Have you seen Roxas lately?" Hayner asked as she shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth. His stomach turned and he hoped he could keep it all down long enough to have it work.

"Not lately. Pence has his wing of the Academy so he'd been bring plates up to his room but he only eats sporadically." Olette placed out two glasses of water and a glass of juice for Naminé. "No one's seen him for a while. We even set up a watch in the kitchen to see if he was coming down to eat in the middle of the night."

"He's got to be skinnier than normal now. He could die in his room without anyone knowing!" He felt better already. Just having food in his stomach after puking most of it up last night helped.

Olette brushed her brown hair back behind her ear. Green eyes glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well, why doesn't he get someone to take care of him? His rooms are big enough to have someone in there with him."

"Olette!" Naminé exclaimed. "No! You can't be saying he should get a slave!" Blue eyes were wide in shock. She didn't mind servants. That could even be respectable and they were paid. But slaves were, well, slaves. And it wasn't something overly common, especially at the Academy. Only some of the Masters of their subject had slaves. Outside of the Academy it was a bit more common to see a slave like in the capitol Radiant Garden where the Emperor and all of his court lived. Most of them had a slave for each member of their family. But Naminé couldn't understand it. It was wrong to have someone else bound to you in such a way they couldn't escape.

"I'm just saying he should consider it. He's so innocent it's not like he'd take advantage of another person." Olette pressed the empty tray against her. "And a slave would be able to keep tabs on him we can't." With a shrug Olette turned to leave.

"You know," said Hayner as he swallowed another bite of bacon, "Olette might have a point."

"No," said Naminé firmly. "Roxas doesn't need a slave. It's horrible you'd even think that."

"Just think of it like this Nam, a slave would be in the same room as him. They'd be allowed to go into his room and make him eat. We could ask them to let us know how he is. And look at it this way," he took another bite of bacon to actually come up with something else to say. "If Roxas gets a slave, if we all did, we could give them a better life. Who knows how they live right now? If you want to be a good person then you should help someone!" Naminé still didn't look slightly convinced. Her eyes were narrowed angrily. "Even better a slave would give Roxas more free time," Hayner rushed to say. Realizing he actually had something there he latched onto the idea. "If _you_ had a slave they could take care of some of the cleaning and stuff. You could use all of that time for studying for your exams. Then you could have more time later if you wanted to jump levels again."

It wasn't often his feeble attempts at convincing her of something actually worked. Very rarely did he have an argument strong enough to convince her. But now he could see the effect of his words. She was desperate for time. Hayner had been here for four years to become an adept. She wanted to become a full blown mage as quickly as possible. Hayner still wasn't sure why exactly, but she was determined to hurry and finish up at the Academy as quickly as possible. For her every minute was spent practicing or studying.

"Roxas does need someone to help him out a bit," Naminé said thoughtfully. "Someone strong to help him lift things for him or carry all of those books. And he'll be going out for his Journeyman's task soon. Perhaps he should have someone to keep an eye on him."

Reaching across to grab a piece of toast Hayner dipped it in the jam. Spreading it would've been a lot of work. "So let's go this afternoon. It'll be a present for Roxas passing his final tests before he heads out."

Thought she wasn't thrilled with it, she was obviously okay with it all now. Well, not even okay, but at least she was going to deal with it because she could justify it in her own mind. Finishing their breakfast Hayner watched the two blocks of gold being turned into two different parts of a statue that Naminé put together seamlessly. It was like a perfect little gold replica of their friend Roxas. Naminé grabbed it and stuffed it in her bag. "If we're going to do this then let's do it," she said standing up.

Hayner stood and followed her out of the hall, through the painfully white walls and out onto the grounds. Large bushes were shaped into fanciful shapes and creatures. Trees grew in twists and turn higher than any natural tree ever could. Carriages with handsome black stallions harnessed to them were always waiting out in front for students to go wherever they might need. Motioning for one of the carriage drivers to open the door for them Naminé grabbed Hayner's hand. "Hurry up!" she said pulling him into the carriage. He settled down next to her and looked out the window as she told the driver where they wanted to go.

As they slowly started out down the road to the nearest slave market Hayner heard Naminé's words but they left his mind just as quickly. She was commenting on what she thought would be the best fit for Roxas and qualities they had to stay away from. The nicely formed bushes turned into wild trees and plants. Right outside the boundaries of the Academy was a small town. People stared at the black carriage. Students could leave the Academy, but if you weren't a student, teacher or servant you weren't allowed on the grounds. Everyone was always curious about what went on in the school. Many families from Radiant Garden sent their children to be tested for some amount of magical ability just to get someone inside the Academy. The prestige of it was enough to make a merchant the head of his fleet or a basic town child a page for a wealthy knight.

Hayner, like everyone else at the Academy, was always curious why everyone came to the Academy. Most people didn't have a problem telling their whole life's story. Hayner himself was just a child who'd been found by the mages when he'd been experimenting making a blade of grass fly around him. He knew most of the other student's stories as well. But Naminé had never so much as hinted where she was from and neither had Roxas. Every once in a while one of them would do or say something that might've hinted where they were from if Hayner had known about other regions of Hallow Bastion.

For instance, Roxas had an air about him that said he was from a wealthy family, probably from Radiant Garden itself. But he wasn't arrogant like the others Hayner had seen come from there. They were two mysteries that Hayner loved. They were fun and outgoing (when they weren't being busybodies and studying all the time) and both were painfully smart. Hayner knew he should have the motivation they did to study but he just didn't have it in him.

As the carriage slowed Hayner took in the town they had come to. It was larger than most in the area even though it wasn't nearby any water source. As he followed his friend out he saw a small building of stone that stood out from the other wood ones. On the side was a large black symbol for the mages of the Emperor himself, the Nobody symbol. Nobodies were mages who had reached the level of master within the Academy. They gave up all of themselves, even their names, for the Emperor. To even become a mage of the Academy you were told to give up all outside ties until you finished. No one had a surname there. Many took them back once they left the Academy but not all did. Those who didn't tended to become the Nobodies of the Emperor. They were the ones who were sent out on the Emperor's orders. They had the authority to make and break laws, to surpass orders given, even to kill if they thought they had to.

Naminé set off to the east. Hayner followed her with a sigh. This had been his, well Olette's idea, and now Naminé was hijacking it. Not that he minded of course. Naminé's support was always a good thing. She led him right to the edge of town where a small building and fenced in area sat. The Nobody in his black robes with the Nobody symbol emblazoned on the back was leaning on the fence. Striding right up to the ridiculously tall man Naminé tapped him on the back since she couldn't reach his shoulder. "Excuse me," she said in her sweetest voice. "Are you the proprietor here?"

The tall man turned to look down at her. His shoulders were wider than both Hayner and Naminé put together. His face was set very seriously. "No," he said in an oddly gentle voice. "I'm just here to keep the peace."

Hayner looked at the gathered people within the fence. There were people in heavy chains, some in just rope; some were just children others older than his parents. He looked at all of them but none stood out. If they were looking for someone for Roxas, someone they'd have to trust to have around Roxas, Hayner wanted someone who he just felt automatically drawn to. He wanted to just _know_ he and Naminé were making the right decision.

"Ah, well if you'll excuse us then, we'll be heading inside."

"Are you both looking for slaves?" the man asked them.

"No, we're just looking for our friend."

"Well, most of the choices are out here right now so if you'd like to look I'll go get the proprietor." The man went off leaving the students alone. Hayner went up to stand beside Naminé and hope that, maybe, one of them would stand out now. Maybe she'd see something he missed. But the way Naminé was glaring at all of the slaves made it pretty obvious she saw exactly what he did. Nothing.

"This is stupid," she said suddenly. "I felt so good about this place. I felt like we'd have to find someone."

"There could be more inside." Said Hayner helpfully. If Naminé had had a good feeling about this place they'd find someone for sure. He was sure of it. Naminé was strange like that. She showed no aptitude in any of her clairvoyance classes but when she had a hunch all of her friends knew to listen to it.

_Humphing_ Naminé stomped off to the building. She was approaching it with Hayner in tow just as the mage stepped out followed by another man with long shockingly silver hair and the strangest gold eyes Hayner had ever seen. Before the door shut behind them Hayner could hear two voices yelling. Yet when the thin wood door shut the voices were silenced. _A silencing spell. And probably a strengthening one as well._ If the people were as fierce as their voices sounded they would probably have tried to pull the building down around them without a spell there. Which was probably why the Nobody was there. That was the only reason a Nobody would be in such a small town.

"Number Five tells me the two of you were looking for a slave for a friend of yours." Golden eyes took in the kids as he held his hand out to Naminé. "Xehanort."

"Naminé. And this is Hayner." Turning to look at the Nobody Naminé sounded almost impressed. "Number Five? The Silent Hero? At the college we heard you were the one in charge of rooting out the barbarians who have been pillaging the towns in the north." His nod made him seem all the more the Silent Hero he was called. Barbarians were nothing to joke about. They had wild magic and no problem killing innocent villagers. To be the one in charge of keeping the north safe from them was impressive. "So we're looking for someone very particular," Naminé started out. This time Hayner actually listened to what she was saying. "First, we need a male. Tall and strong. He needs a bit of a personality, not some whipped slave who won't have an opinion."

"Have you taken a look at the ones we have outside?" Xehanort's tone clearly said he didn't think two kids would have any idea what their friend would really want.

"They're not right." Naminé looked like a sweet clueless angel. Too bad she had a bite like a wolf. "We want to see the ones inside."

"It would be unwise," Xehanort said carefully. "They're not ones that could be kept by mages still at the Academy.

Hayner wanted to put his hand on Naminé's shoulder to keep her in check. From the rigid set of her shoulders Hayner knew she was upset. And the last time he had seem her get so rigid was when a teacher had questioned her different way of composing a spell. She'd then demonstrated exactly why her way of forming a spell to destroy something was far superior. Classes in the novice wing of the Academy were cancelled until they could rebuild.

"You will show them to us. As students of the Academy, adepts who will be Nobodies, we will see whoever we want to. We will buy whoever we want. And though we have given up our family names, you will deal with them if you don't show us now. And we'll still get what we want." It was all said so sweetly Hayner felt a shiver. Naminé wasn't just good because she was a hard worker but she was one of the best because her innate magical ability was beyond most anyone else's. Hell, Hayner was pretty sure he didn't have the power to make it past the journeyman level. But Naminé would be a Nobody if she wanted to and there was no one who could say otherwise.

"Right this way then," Xehanort said with a pained smile.

Following him back into the building Hayner was surprised at the bareness of it. Only one mage light lit the place, though it was bright enough to light every corner. The air smelled musty but nothing like the wood it was made from. Large cages, there was no better word for them, took up all the space except for a small desk. But only two of them were actually inhabited. In the first closet to them was a man with flaming red hair that Hayner couldn't help but notice. His clothes were nothing but rags on his frame made all of his muscles stand out. His face was all angles and masculine and regal but his eyes were wild in a way that couldn't be hidden. Hayner knew, without a doubt, that this was the one Naminé had felt. He had the personality that would kick Roxas' ass to get him out of the room. He might even go father and get Roxas to focus on more than just magic. There was more to life than that.

Yet though he was sure the red-head was perfect for Roxas, Naminé seemed to think the other guy was. She was standing outside his cage with one hand pressed against the bars. Hayner examine him as well but didn't get the feeling of rightness. He was handsome as well with similar feral eyes but where the red-head's were open and wild this one had eyes that were shuttered and cold. He was dangerous.

"Nam?"

"We want them both," she said without looking away from the dangerous one. "How much?" Cold blue eyes met her's and something passed between them. Hayner really didn't like whatever that was.

"Ten pounds of pure gold, each."

For the first time since they'd entered the building Naminé looked away. Reaching into her bag she pulled out the golden statue of Roxas. In just a fraction of a second it went from a perfectly sculpted piece of art to a solid bar of gold. "Ten pounds."

Hayner reached into his own bag and found a few gems he carried around as storage for any extra power he had. Pulling out most he picked out the largest diamond and a few rubies. "Easily worth ten pounds."

Xehanort collected their payment and looking it over before nodding. Glancing at the Nobody he reached into his pocket. "Number Five has stripped the red-head of his power. Whoever your friend is, give this to them to take care of." He handed a black gem to Hayner. He knew it was possible to strip magic from a person and that it had to be placed in very particular gems that could actually hold it. Power couldn't be destroyed. It was part of nature that wasn't part of it any more. If it was destroyed it would be like unleashing all types of natural disasters at once. Wherever it was destroyed would be nothing but ruins. "I advise you keep both locked in their irons until you get them back to the Academy."

"There are simple locking spells on both," Number Five added in. A small wave of his hand had both cage doors swinging open. Both men shuffled out, iron cuffs on their ankles, small chains keep them attached.

As the red head drew himself up to him full height Hayner felt a small wave of fear. He had assumed the other one was more dangerous. But the red-head was just as dangerous. The other one stepped out as well but he was looking at Naminé like she was all that mattered in his life.

Deal done Naminé led them out of the small building. "What are your names?" she asked once the door was shut behind her. Her tone was still light but tense.

"Riku," said the dangerous one with blue eyes. "From the northern tribe of 100 Acre Woods."

"It's Axel. From the west by Destiny Island. Got it memorized?" said the red- head casually but when Hayner glanced at him he was glaring at Riku. Hayner had heard that most barbarian tribes were extremely hostile towards others not from the same region. Still this was a bit much. They were in the same boat now, shouldn't they be temporary allies for now or something?

The driver jumped down to open the door for them, but Riku darted forward and opened it first. His glare made the man back up like a scared animal. He even bowed his head a bit towards Naminé as she climbed in. Hayner steped in behind her and sat next Naminé so he could look at both of the barbarians. The door slammed shut behind him. Hayner looked at Naminé for a second before throwing it back open. Axel and Riku were on the ground pummeling each other.

"You will both stop!" Naminé yelled from behind him. He could feel her pressed up behind him. Riku immediately pushed Axel away and stood up. Facing Naminé he almost looked ashamed. Mostly pissed he hadn't gotten in another few punches, but ashamed. "I will not have both of you attacking each other every time you get a chance! Do it again and I'll make you impotent!" Shocked, all three guys turned to look at her. Hayner turned so much he lost his grip and fell out of the carriage.

"Naminé!" Hayner gasped, shocked and winded. "Why would you even joke about that?"

"I excelled in all healing classes so it's not a joke. Now you can all get in or I'll show you how serious I am."

Neither Axel nor Riku seemed to want to test her just yet. Maybe if they knew her they would know she was bluffing. At least Hayner hoped she was. All of them climbed in with the heads down. Hayner was sure he even caught a muttered apology from Riku. With the door shut behind them again the carriage started moving. As they got closer to the Academy Naminé relaxed more and more. Striking up a pleasant conversation about nothing with Riku left Hayner to do nothing but try to talk to Axel.

"So you're from a western tribe?" His look of did-you-miss-the-"got it memorized?" made Hayner laugh nervously. "So what type of wild magic do you have? I've heard it's not common but sometimes barbarians have one specific to different elements."

Axel glared at Riku who was smiling at Naminé as they discussed what the 100 Acre Woods were like. "Fire. We're the oldest line of all _barbarians _to possess it."

"You're thieves and murderers," Riku chimed in before returning to his own conversation.

"We've always had it. And unlike the unlucky northerners most of us can wield it to some degree."

"Then is it like they say? No one at the Academy knows exactly what wild magic is like. Is it really uncontrollable?"

"It's not wild," he growled. "It's pure. It's controlled like anyone can control a fire they started. When you make fire don't you have complete control of it?"

"Of course! But we've had training and supplement it with other magic to control it completely."

Axel sighed and sat back in the seat. He looked out the window as the scene rolled by. "We have training too. We pass along our knowledge like you do. And we don't change what fire is. It is wild and dangerous and we let it be what it is." All of Hayner's other questions were ignored. Axel was completely mute. He didn't seem upset by the short conversation, just reminiscing.

As they pulled up to the Academy Naminé jumped out before they had even come to a complete stop. Everyone followed her out once the carriage had stopped. Already far ahead Riku ran to catch up. He said something to her and she handed her bag over for him to carry. "Hayner," she said back over her shoulder. "Show Axel to Roxas. I'm sure they'll get along great. And if Roxas is stubborn lock them in his room. Use the new variation we've worked on. It should take him a few minutes to break then." Hayner sighed. It was so like her. She got a way to improve her studying and focused everything on it. Riku was doomed.

Tilting his head towards the Academy Hayner led Axel inside. He tried to imagine how he felt the first time he'd seen it. It was like entering a solid white marble castle. Grand like something from a fairytale, with bushes and trees in fanciful shapes, it was quite a sight. And with the white halls and sculptures from past students that floated and mages lights to illuminate everything seemed unreal. He hoped Axel saw it like that and not like a new cage. Just because he was now a slave didn't mean it had to feel like one. And Roxas would make sure Axel wasn't treated poorly. Roxas would take care of him, even if he was a bit younger.

Up through the halls, past the class rooms and labs and storage rooms, to the wing where the adepts lived. Hayner's own set of rooms were the first ones in the hall. Roxas' were farther down, almost to the end on the left. Knocking politely on the door he sighed at the still full tray of food from breakfast. "Roxas. Roxas? Naminé and I have to show you something." He could hear shuffling inside and a thump as something fell. Probably a book. Hopefully not an experiment.

The door opened and Roxas' blond head popped out. Big blue eyes took in all of Axel in a glance before looking at Hayner. His hair was a complete mess. It was completely disheveled. Unlike being completely up in almost a magically gravity defying style it was poking out at all sides. He looked like Hayner had that morning except without the hangover.

"Roxas, meet Axel. Naminé bought him for you. And here's what comes with it." He handed over the black gem.

"A slave?" Big blue eyes got bigger. "What about Naminé's moral code?"

"She got one too. It'll help her manage her time better."

"What about my decision in this?" Roxas pouted. His young face seemed upset. "Shouldn't you have asked me first?"

Hayner sighed. He should've known how Roxas would feel. But Axel seemed to have something to finally say. "When's the last time you ate kid?"

Roxas' eyes narrowed dangerously like Naminé's did when she was upset. "It's Roxas, not kid. And that's none of your business."

Grabbing the tray from the ground Axel pushed the door open all the way making Roxas back up. His room was a mess. Books opened to all sorts of different pages, metals of all sorts littered the floor. His bed looked like it hadn't been slept in in weeks. "Hayner, why don't you try that knew lock Naminé mentioned?" Axel said with a smile. "And Roxas will meet you for dinner tonight." Roxas let out an indignant squawk as the door shut. Placing the locking spell on it, the variation Naminé had helped him work out, he hoped they had done the right thing.

Some small part of him was sure they had. There was a way Axel had looked at Roxas that was like Riku looking at Naminé just far more predatory.


End file.
